Roy Halladay and Dallas Braden threw perfect games last season, the first time two occurred in the same year. Joined with Mark Buerhle's perfecto in 2009, that's three in 365 days. What's Tim Lincecum doing in this MLB 2K11 spot?

The fifth pitcher here, Justin Verlander, threw a no-hitter - not a perfect game - in 2007. But Lincecum, well, he was on the cover of MLB 2K9, which probably explains his promotional duty here for 2K Sports, based across the Golden Gate Bridge in Novato, Calif. (it may explain why Braden, across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, shows up here, too.)

Of course, Lincecum's also a world champion and a two-time Cy Young winner.

Either way, by laying out $2 million over the past two years, MLB 2K has staked out baseball's perfect game as a topic it owns. I hope if I get this close Steve Phillips isn't as clinical as his dialogue sounds.

While living in the Bay Area I adopted the Athletics, and I can't think about Braden's game without it getting a little dusty in here. That guy's mother died of cancer his when he was in high school. Living with his grandmother, she told him his life would be either baseball or jail. On May 9, 2010, with his grandmother in the stands, Braden threw the nineteenth perfect game in major league history. The A's had promoted the game as "Stockton Day," honoring Braden's hometown. Most importantly, it was Mothers' Day.